Jury finds Burchett guilty
A 51-month-old murder case ended with a conviction in Marshall County Circuit Court Thursday.
Larmont Donzell Burchett was sentenced to life in prison by Third Circuit Court Judge Grady Tollison following a one hour and 15 minute jury deliberation.
He was indicted August 2017 for the murder of DéAndre Jones February 20, 2017, at Griffin Inc., an armored car manufacturing company in Victoria.
Burchett’s trial began Tuesday, May 25, with the selection of 12 jurors and two alternates composed of 12 women and two men.
Burchett, 28 at the time of the incident, and Jones, 26, were coworkers in the trim and paint building at Griffin.
Witnesses at the trial said the two had been disciplined for getting unruly after joking with each other and had shaken hands on it, the only disciplinary action prior to the murder.
Burchett, unable to overcome his disturbance with his coworker, fired seven rounds from a handgun, believed to be a 9 mm, into Jones. The first of the bullets went into Jones’ back, and one also struck him in the head, authorities said, as he was seated on a bucket working on trim near the passenger side rear wheel of a vehicle.
A recent hire, Burchett was assigned to interior work to attach decals and install mirrors while Jones, employed with Griffin for about a year and a half, worked outside.
Following the early morning shooting, Burchett fled in his Jeep to Memphis, Tenn., where authorities located vehicle using tracking technology. He was arrested by Memphis police and taken to jail at 201 Poplar Avenue where he was later interviewed by Maj. Kelly McMillen with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department. Burchett waived his rights and was extradited to Marshall County jail February 20, 2017, where he has been held for just over three years awaiting trial.
Delois Jones, the victim’s mother, was first called to testify for the prosecution. She said her son was looking forward to moving out of her house and going out on his own. He had planned to start his own landscaping business, she said.
Jones died while in transit via helicopter to the Memphis Med.
Cassie Cox, who like Delois Jones wept while under oath, was one of the first on the scene following the shooting. She was called to the shop over the radio.
She started out as a stocker at Griffin in 1994 after earning an associates degree in accounting from Northwest Community College. Cox was working in human resources/accounting when she got the call a shooting had taken place in Building 6.
One of two people with Jones after the shooting, Cox was trained in first aid and CPR as an 18-year volunteer with the Victoria Fire Department.
As she knelt at Jones’ side he pled, “Don’t let me die,” his last words as he choked on his own blood, Cox said.
Prosecuting attorney Christine Tatum addressed the jury, saying Burchett did not shoot Jones in self-defense and the shooting was not justified.
Speaking to the jury on behalf of her client, public defender Lori Shaw said, in opening statements, “I’m here to fight for my client Mr. Burchett. This is his judgment day. We have already had one unnecessary loss of life. Why have another? Mr. Burchett is innocent until proven guilty. We are here to determine if another young man will lose a life.”
In eyewitness testimony, a worker delivering parts to Building 6 said he saw Burchett shoot Jones multiple times, then get in his vehicle and leave.
A maintenance technician near Building 6 said he heard a loud pop and thought it could be an airline that burst, but more pops convinced him there was a problem in Building 6 as he drove by in a golf cart. He saw people running from the building and heard more pops.
Also trained in first aid, the technician entered Building 6 and saw Jones lying on the floor gurgling and his body riddled with holes. Shell casings and projectiles were on the floor near the body. The technician saw paramedics put Jones on a gurney. At the time Jones had his eyes open. But the exit wound from a bullet convinced the technician that Jones was in serious trouble.
The technician testified he saw a person get in a Jeep and speed away. He said he did not see who shot Jones.
The building supervisor testified how Jones and Burchett treated each other.
The coworkers were joking around and Burchett didn’t take Jones’ jokes well and complained to the supervisor. He said he talked with the coworkers and both said there wouldn’t be any more joking. They shook hands on it because they could lose their jobs if it happened again.
Burchett complained the morning of the shooting that he didn’t feel well, according to testimony, and left the building after being reminded he needed to see a doctor and get an excuse.
Burchett clocked out and went to the employee parking lot. The supervisor was stocking when he heard three shots.
He said he saw Burchett shooting and thought he was shooting at him. He ran and took cover under a stairwell.
After Burchett left, he came out to get a head count and saw Jones lying on the floor. He said he saw Burchett get in his truck and drive off. The supervisor was the first to call for help.
“We need help in Building 6. Somebody got shot,” he said.
A quality control employee testified Burchett left after complaining he was sick then returned. He thought Burchett was coming back to get something he had left.
“I thought you were gone,” the Q.C. Employee said to Burchett. “When I looked up he started shooting. I was standing behind him.”
McMillen, who interviewed Burchett in Memphis, said no gun was ever found and the Jeep was returned and gone over for evidence. He said the case was built on eyewitness testimony that Burchett had fired a gun. He said Burchett stopped cooperating in an interview at the point he asked about the gun.
McMillen described the scene at Griffin following the shooting as “chaotic.” No witnesses were called by the defense and Burchett did not testify at trial.
The state called six witnesses. District attorney Ben Creekmore expressed relief after the trial and appreciation to the jury. “I respect the verdict of the jury and their having to endure the pressure of a murder trial,” he said. “On behalf of DéAndre Jones’ family, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and our office, we are grateful for the result.” Shaw also provided this statement: “The defendant Larmont Burchett expressed to exercise his right to represent himself,” she said. “Out of an abundance of caution the court kept me in trial to serve as defendant’s legal advisor. It turned out to be a hybrid representation – a complex situation. “Mr. Burchett was permitted to retract his waiver of counsel at any time during the trial and to allow me to fully serve and represent him as his defense counsel. He did not so withdraw. “Although I did most of the ‘questioning of witnesses and statements to the jury,’ I also asked questions and made statements specifically requested by Mr. Burchett. “My ultimate duty was to ensure Mr. Burchett’s constitutional rights to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”